The Trauma Therapist | Podcast with Guy Macpherson, PhD | Inspiring interviews with thought-leaders in the field of trauma.

Inspiring interviews with thought-leaders and game-changers in the fields of trauma, mindfulness, addiction and yoga. Join Guy Macpherson, PhD at traumatherapistproject.com as we hear about the journeys of passionate mental health workers who dedicate their lives to helping others heal and thrive.

What does it mean to cultivate awareness? Why is it important? And what are the implications both for therapists in general, for for trauma therapists in particular? And how does this impact the client?

An award-winning educator, he is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and recipient of several honorary fellowships.

Dr. Siegel is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute, an educational organization, which offers online learning and in-person seminars that focus on how the development of mindsight in individuals, families and communities can be enhanced by examining the interface of human relationships and basic biological processes.

Kristin Sunanta Walker is the CEO of the technology consulting firm, everythingEHR, and the founder of the Mental Health News Radio Network, a collection of podcasts centering on the subject of mental health. Kirstin is also a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and an advocate for survivors of childhood trauma.

On her podcast, Mental Health News Radio, Kristin has interviewed leaders in the behavioral health community such as CEO’s of technology companies, counselors, best-selling authors, and global experts in the field of Behavioral Health. Her show is downloaded in over 171 countries and continues its reach with inspiring guests from every corner of the world.

My goal with The Trauma Therapist Project--the podcast, Trauma Therapist | 2.0, and my online course, Inner-Work For The New Trauma Worker--has always been to raise the awareness of trauma, and to help support, educate and inspire new trauma therapists.

This week I'm continuing that mission, albeit with something different. A few weeks ago I reached out to Victor Yalom of psychotherapy.net and inquired about partnering with him to bring my listeners one of his most popular online courses, Irvin Yalom and the Art of Psychotherapy.

I thought this would be a great chance for you to learn from a master therapist.

Irvin Yalom, is a prolific author, well-known for integrating existentialism into his work, as well as for working in the here and now. It is these latter two elements which are integral to working with those who’ve been impacted by trauma, and the reason I wanted to partner with Victor to bring this course to you.

In this episode I talk to Victor, the son of Irvin Yalom, and himself, a licensed psychologist with over 25 years of experience, and the founder and CEO of Psychotherapy.net.

Victor shares his personal story of what inspired him to get into the field of psychotherapy, and then eventually found psychotherapy.net.

Sebastian Slovin grew up in La Jolla, California and traveled extensively as a professional bodyboarder. Through his travel, Sebastian developed a deep love and appreciation for our natural world, and at the same time was drawn to the practice of yoga. As a young boy, Sebastian lost his father to suicide, which would later deeply inspire his path in life.

Sebastian holds a BA in Environmental Policy from San Diego State University and an MA in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego.

He and his wife, Sonya, founded Nature Unplugged, which focuses on cultivating wellness through healthier relationships with technology and a deeper connection to nature. When he is not writing or working on Nature Unplugged, Sebastian enjoys swimming, bodysurfing, surfing, and stand-up paddling (pretty much all things) in the wild Pacific Ocean.

Dr. Springer is a licensed Psychologist with an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a doctoral degree from the University of Florida.

She has particular expertise in innovative suicide prevention approaches, moral injury, trauma recovery, close relationships, peer support program development, and veterans' issues, including post-discharge adjustment as well as strategies for engaging Veterans in behavioral health care.

Prior to her current role at TAPS, she served as a front-line psychologist in a Department of Veterans Affairs behavioral health clinic. She helped launch the peer support program in her clinic, and continually innovated to better serve the veterans on her caseload. Known to many veterans as “Doc Springer,” she has helped hundreds of warriors reconnect with their tribe, strengthen their most important relationships, and build lives that are driven by their deepest values.

Based on the trust she has earned within the veteran community, she has acquired a wealth of knowledge about how our bravest citizens may struggle, and the sacred values and potentially life-saving strategies that may help all of us stay in the fight. Recently, she has been developing training on how to have respectful, effective conversations about lethal means with veterans who own firearms.

Susan Pease Banitt, LCSW is a clinical social worker, speaker, and author who specializes in the treatment of severe trauma, dissociative disorders, and PTSD.

She has worked in the field of mental health for more than four decades in diverse settings: inpatient, outpatient, and medical with adults and children, and trained in the Harvard medical teaching hospitals in Boston, MA.

She is a Clinical Supervisor, Reiki Master, Kripalu trained yoga teacher and shamanic healer in the Celtic tradition. Susan wrote the award-winning book The Trauma Tool Kit: Healing PTSD From the Inside Out (Quest Books) in 2012. Her second book: Wisdom, Attachment and Love in Trauma Therapy: Beyond Evidence-Based Practice (2018) has just been released by Routledge Press. She has a private practice in beautiful Portland, Oregon where she lives with her husband and a menagerie of wise pets.

I'm excited and honored to have Dr. Bruce Perry back on The Trauma Therapist | Podcast.

Dr. Perry is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and neuroscientist.

He is a senior fellow at the ChildTrauma Academy and an adjunct professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

In addition to having written more than two hundred scientific articles, Dr. Perry has coauthored with Maia Szalavitz two books for general audiences: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook and Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential — and Endangered.